WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and China have established a
secret electronic surveillance post along China's border with Burma to
eavesdrop on narcotics trafficking from the Golden Triangle, one of the
world's biggest sources of heroin, the Washington Post reported Saturday.

Quoting U.S. and Chinese sources, the newspaper said the Clinton
administration has also given China several dozen Jeep-like Humvee vehicles
for narcotics interdiction in mountainous terrain along the Burmese border.

In addition, Chinese sources said, the United States has established a
secret fund that Chinese officials can access to run the surveillance
center and fight drug trafficking.

The listening post, staffed by Chinese and U.S. agents near the Chinese
border town of Ruili in southern Yunnan Province, marks a significant step
forward in a U.S. intelligence-sharing relationship with China dating back
to 1971, the Post said.

The newspaper said the post opened in 1995 and the arrangement was
unaffected by subsequent bickering between Washington and Beijing over
Taiwan and other issues.

Intelligence cooperation is insulated from what one Chinese source called
``short-term'' troubles in the relationship.

The Ruili listening post is the most advanced of a host of new initiatives
that U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies are launching with
China to battle international crime, the newspaper said.

According to the report, a liaison group for law enforcement agreed last
month to draw up a list of U.S. and Chinese criminal suspects who are
believed to be operating in each other's country.

The group also is to arrange the exchange of law enforcement personnel and
an agreement to share evidence and harmonize judicial procedures.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry